Bully Able Leader: The Story of a Fighter-Bomber Pilot in the Korean War

By George G Loving

This USAF pilot’s memoir “masterfully describes the progress of the war . . . [and] superbly chronicles the many close-support and interdiction missions.” —Air & Space Power Journal 
 
This action-packed account by an American pilot and squadron commander in the Korean War reveals just what it was like to fly the F-80 Shooting Star against MiGs and ground targets. Using the radio call sign of “Bully Able Leader,” Lieutenant General George G. Loving flew 112 combat missions in five major campaigns from 1950–1951.  This well-written, first-hand account of life in the cockpit of a USAF fighter jet will appeal to aviation enthusiasts and military history buffs alike.
 
“Valuable insights of the flying environment that earmarked this first war of extensive use of jet combat aircraft.” —Col. Joe McCue, USAF (Ret.), Air Power History

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780811744843

Book preview

BULLY ABLE LEADER

BULLY ABLE

LEADER

LT. GEN. GEORGE G. LOVING

USAF (RET.)

STACKPOLE

BOOKS

Copyright © 2011 by George G. Loving

Published by

STACKPOLE BOOKS

5067 Ritter Road

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

www.stackpolebooks.com

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Loving, George G., 1923–

Bully Able Leader: the story of a fighter-bomber pilot in the Korean War/George G. Loving.

                    p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-8117-1026-8

1. Loving, George G., 1923– 2. Korean War, 1950–1953—Personal narratives, American. 3. Korean War, 1950–1953—Aerial operations, American. 4. Fighter pilots—United States—Biography. I. Title.

DS921.6.L784 2011

951.904'248—dc22

[B]

                                                               2011007896

eISBN: 9780811744843

Dedicated to the courageous pilots

of the 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

who did not survive:

Capt. Charles E. Coons

Capt. Richard G. Croskrey

Maj. Marlyn C. Ford, Jr.

1st Lt. Jack Forrester

Capt. Kenneth J. Granberg

1st Lt. John S. Starck

1st Lt. Jack C. Steinharter

Capt. Cleland D. With

Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

—CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ

Contents

Preface

While some in recent years have taken to calling the Korean War The Forgotten War, the memory remains strong for those of us who fought in it. As a fighter-bomber pilot, my assignment was to do battle with North Korean and Chinese soldiers and attack enemy targets on the ground—artillery pieces, tanks, trucks, trains, bridges, communications facilities, supply dumps, airfields, and antiaircraft weapons. Some of these targets were heavily defended by enemy soldiers intent on killing any fighter-bomber pilot within their reach.

Flying at high speed close to the ground—sometimes in foul weather, often in mountainous terrain, and diving repeatedly to strafe and launch rockets, napalm, and bombs, all the while being under fire by enemy soldiers—was exciting and dangerous. A World War II Soviet attack pilot who flew similar missions described the experience as a dance with death. Although this may or may not accurately describe the challenge that faced fighter-bomber pilots in the Korean War, such a description never occurred to me during my combat tour. I’m glad that it didn’t. I was there as a volunteer, and while I knew I wasn’t bullet-proof, I held to the belief that I would survive, that the other guy would buy the farm, not me. And I was right.

This is the first time this story has been told. Occasionally over the years, in conversations with old comrades at squadron reunions, I have spoken briefly of some particularly amusing or unusual incident, and a description of one combat mission found its way into print some years ago, but not until now, more than half a century later, have I set forth a comprehensive account of my Korean War experiences. At a book signing in 2003, shortly after my World War II memoir* was published, an old-timer asked me, What took you so long? I replied that there was the small matter of earning a living that occupied my attention for the forty-four years following the war, and then after my retirement, the golf course and fishing received priority. But in my spare time, I conducted research for the World War II book and sporadically did some writing over a period of ten years. It was not an easy project. But even so, two years after that book signing, I decided to tackle my Korean War memoir. This project took only five years.

As exciting as my assignment was, it was rarely possible to evaluate from the air the full impact of my combat efforts. Sometimes, this was because the enemy was dug in and camouflaged, hidden by foliage and terrain, but even when the target was visible and I knew I had destroyed it, I could often only guess at the impact on the enemy. Occasionally, we would get a well done from a forward air controller for striking a heavy blow on an enemy formation, or we could see the results of dive-bombing a bridge, or we could count the burning North Korean or Chinese vehicles we had strafed. Nevertheless, while the number of trucks blasted or troops killed or bridges destroyed might indicate success on a given mission, the aggregate of such successes during a tour of combat service just didn’t resonate with us as a yardstick of success. Instead, our measure of success was simple: survival equaled success. Although seldom the recipients of public notice or accolades, at the end of their combat tours, the fighter-bomber pilots with whom I flew had the satisfaction of knowing that they had unflinchingly done their duty and had survived. For them, that was success.

Footnote

* Woodbine Red Leader: A P-51 Mustang Ace in the Mediterranean Theater (New York: Ballantine Books, 2003).

Introduction

For centuries, the great powers of northeast Asia sought to control the Korean peninsula. Located at the crossroads between powerful and expansionist-minded neighbors, Korea has suffered from repeated invasions and encroachments—in modern times by China, Japan, and Russia. For almost a thousand years prior to 1895, Korea acknowledged a particular relationship to China based on Chinese cultural influences, the superiority of the Chinese state, and China’s enforced claim of suzerainty.

Korea’s modern period began in 1876 with the signing of a trade treaty with Japan. Thereafter, Japanese influence in Korea increased steadily while China’s influence began to wane. These two great Asian powers engaged in open armed conflict in Korea during 1894–95, when they fought for control of the strategic peninsula during the Sino-Japanese War. Japan was the unexpected victor and forced China to relinquish its tutelage over Korea and recognize the independence of Korea.

Japanese attempts to consolidate power in Korea met with considerable internal resistance because of heavy-handed efforts to reform the country. Russia was quick to take advantage of this development and became increasingly involved in Korean affairs to the detriment of Japanese influence. This lead to the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), in which Japan soundly defeated Russia, forcing the recognition of Japan’s predominant interests in Korea.

In the years that followed the Russo-Japanese War, Japan proceeded to assume full control over Korea’s economic, political, and social affairs. In 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea and thereafter ruled her as a colony until the end of World War II.

Two years before the end of World War II, in December 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek pledged in the Cairo Declaration that the aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall be free and independent. At the Yalta Conference in early 1945, the subject of a multipower trusteeship for Korea was discussed, but no decision was made.

The Allied chiefs convened for a final wartime meeting at Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. Among other matters, the provisions of the Cairo Declaration were reaffirmed with respect to Korea, but it was further agreed that the question of colonies and trusteeships would be referred to the foreign ministers for later discussion. The American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima occurred on August 6, followed by Nagasaki on August 9. In between, on August 8, 1945, the Soviets entered the war against Japan and invaded Korea. The Japanese surrender offer came on August 10.

The precipitous conclusion of the war found the United States unprepared for the role it was destined to play in Korea. With the end of the war in September 1945, the United States was faced with the monumental task of taking the surrender of Japanese troops all over the Pacific and in Asia as well. As a temporary measure, the United States proposed to the Soviet Union that the Soviets take the surrender of Japanese troops in Korea above the 38th parallel while the United States would take the surrender of those below, and that is what happened.

The American military authorities in Korea were faced with a massive challenge that involved, among other things, the disarmament and evacuation to Japan of 200,000 Japanese troops, the repatriation to Korea of some 2 million Koreans from all over Asia, and the sorting out of the role Koreans would play in governing Korea. It didn’t take long before what proved to be a far more serious challenge arose: the unfriendly and uncooperative attitudes on the part of the Soviets north of the 38th parallel. The Soviets cut off electricity for an area north of Seoul, and the Soviet commander declined the American commander’s invitation to discuss various economic and political problems arising from the arbitrary division of Korea into two parts, with virtually all movement between the zones curtailed.

The division of Korea had serious economic implications. Two-thirds of the people and most of the food supply were located in the southern zone while the greater part of the country’s mineral wealth and heavy industry was in the north. American attempts to secure Soviet cooperation in relaxing travel restrictions between the two zones and to achieve unification of the economy were to no avail. The Soviet commander indicated that matters of unification could only be resolved by the government of the occupying powers.

From December 1945 until July 1947, more than forty formal diplomatic meetings between Soviet and American diplomats were held to discuss the future of Korea. The United States wanted all political and social parties consulted in the formation of a provisional democratic Korean government. The Soviets would not agree. They insisted on excluding most of the parties so that the communist minority would remain in a position of overwhelming influence. It was obvious that further discussion would be fruitless.

In the south, elected representatives convened as a national assembly in May 1948 and adopted a constitution. Syngmann Rhee was elected President of the Republic of Korea in July, and the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) was formally inaugurated on August 15. The American military government was terminated on the same day.

In the northern zone, the Soviets were making final preparations to formally install a communist regime, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a government that was proclaimed in September 1948. The Soviets announced that all of their forces would be withdrawn from Korea by the end of 1948, and the United States withdrew all except a 500-man training detachment by mid-1949. The United States continued to provide substantial economic assistance to the Republic of Korea.

In a speech on January 12, 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson spoke of an American defensive perimeter in the Pacific area. The perimeter, he noted, runs along the Aleutians to Japan and then goes to the Ryukyus and from the Ryukyus to the Philippine Islands. He further stated that so far as the military security of other areas of the Pacific is concerned, it must be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack. Should such an attack occur, the initial reliance must be on the people attacked to resist it and then upon the commitments of the entire civilized world under the Charter of the United Nations. Seven months earlier, the United States had completed the withdrawal of its troops from Korea. Secretary Acheson now seemed to be saying that the United States disclaimed unilateral responsibility for the future security of Korea, leaving that job to the United Nations.

During the six months preceding Dean Acheson’s statement, border incidents, skirmishes, and firefights involving the North Korean and Republic of Korea forces took place with such frequency that the United Nations commission warned the General Assembly of the growing possibility of full-scale civil war. Such activities continued into 1950 as the North Koreans made final preparations for war.

World War II P-51

Mustang Ace Goes

to War in Korea

Chapter 1

Early in the morning on June 25, 1950, North Korea launched an all-out military offensive against the Republic of Korea (ROK). The United States’ response was swift. That same day, it obtained a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the attack, and President Harry S Truman ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the American military commander in the region, to furnish ships and planes to assist and protect the evacuation of American dependents from Korea. The United States Seventh Fleet was placed under MacArthur’s command and ordered to move northward to protect the evacuation. MacArthur was to furnish ammunition and supplies to the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA).

On the following day, as the situation worsened, President Truman ordered MacArthur to use his air and naval forces to support the ROK, but only south of the 38th parallel. Three days later, the president authorized MacArthur to extend air operations into North Korea and to dispatch U.S. Army combat and service troops to Korea to ensure the retention of ports and airfields at Pusan and Chinhae. South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, fell to the North Koreans on June 28. On June 30, as the situation was rapidly deteriorating, the president authorized full utilization of the Army-Navy-Air team.

As soon as I heard the news that the Air Force would be involved in the conflict, I knew that I would soon be heading back to the Far East to fight in yet another war.

Almost every able-bodied man in the United States entered the armed forces during World War II. I was among those who answered the call to colors, serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a fighter pilot. Following nineteen months of training, I joined the 31st Fighter Group in Italy in October 1943 and flew 101 combat missions in Spitfire Mark V and Mark IX aircraft. We flew on patrols to protect U.S. Army and Allied ground forces fighting near Cassino and on the Anzio beachhead from attacks by German fighters and bombers. We also provided escort for light and medium bombers on missions to attack targets in northern Italy.

After I had been in the outfit for five months, the 31st Fighter Group was assigned a different mission and a different airplane: the Air Forces’ most modern fighter, the P-51 Mustang, a long-range high-performance airplane. Our new mission was to participate in the great strategic air offensive against German military, oil, manufacturing, and transportation targets across Europe. My fighter group was assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force, which was responsible for targets in southern and eastern Europe, while the Eighth Air Force, based in England, took care of targets in western Europe.

The Fifteenth Air Force employed hundreds of heavy bombers—B-17s and B-24s—to attack targets all across southern and eastern Europe, including northern Italy, southern Germany and France, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The 31st Fighter Group, one of seven fighter groups in Italy that were each equipped with seventy-five airplanes, provided vital escort to protect the bombers against attacks by German fighter aircraft and those of Germany’s allies.

During my five months as a Mustang pilot, I flew fifty combat missions that took me to targets in each of the countries mentioned above. I participated in many air battles, witnessed a great deal of carnage, and was among the lucky ones who survived and achieved the kind of success that every fighter pilot dreams about. I earned the designation ace by shooting down five enemy airplanes. I also damaged two others in aerial combat. My three closest friends weren’t so fortunate: they all went down—two were listed as missing in action while the third became a prisoner of war. The two who were missing were never found.

I flew almost all of my Mustang missions as a flight or squadron leader, as well as some as group leader of all three squadrons, so I gained a good bit of leadership experience. During my ten-month assignment with the 31st Fighter Group, I advanced from second lieutenant to captain, and I had just turned twenty-one years old when I departed the group for an assignment in the United States.

My postcombat assignment was as a P-47 Thunderbolt instructor at Millville Army Airfield in New Jersey. Prior to arriving at Millville, I spent a few weeks at the P-47 instructors’ school at Providence, Rhode Island. Millville was an enjoyable assignment. My job was to teach fledgling P-47 pilots how to employ the airplane effectively as a weapon. Strafing, dive-and skip-bombing, and aerial gunnery were the principal activities. We had a first-rate bombing range near the base, with the outline of an aircraft carrier marked out on the ground as a bombing target, as well as mock troops, tanks, and vehicles along roads and in the woods for strafing practice. We conducted aerial gunnery against towed targets over the Atlantic Ocean just off Atlantic City.

Ambler Thomasson and I (we had been high-school sweethearts in Lynchburg, Virginia) were married five months after I returned from overseas in January 1945. We traveled to New York City on our honeymoon and enjoyed the sightseeing and nightlife. We stayed at Millville Army Airfield until it was closed the month after the war ended in September 1945. We then moved to Shaw Army Air Field at Sumter, South Carolina.

With the war over, Shaw became a holding base—a place where personnel were congregated until it was decided what to do with them. Soon after I arrived at Shaw, the Army announced that applications for regular commissions would be accepted. This was big news: except for graduating West Point cadets, no regular commission had been granted during the war. In anticipation of this, I had obtained letters of recommendation from senior officers with whom I had flown in combat. These proved to be important. A week or two after I made application and had met a board of examining Army officers, I was elated to be among the four who were selected for a regular commission from among the many applicants at Shaw.

After nine months at Shaw, during which I was in command of a squadron of communications personnel, I received orders to proceed overseas, and in August 1946, I arrived at Itazuke Air Base, located near Fukuoka, Japan, on the main island of Kyushu. Here I would be a part of the U.S. occupation force. Since there was no family housing available, Ambler was not permitted to accompany me. But upon arriving at Itazuke, I learned that houses were under construction, financed by the Japanese as part of the reparations they were required to pay as the defeated party in World War II. After several months, I was assigned a newly constructed duplex that was fully furnished with everything from knives, forks, spoons, glasses, table cloths, and napkins to stove, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, sheets, and pillow cases. At that point, Ambler was given authorization to proceed to Japan. She would come via ship—the USS Hope, a U.S. Army hospital ship—from San Francisco to Yokohama, where I would meet her. Then we would travel by rail to Fukuoka.

As I made plans to go to Yokohama, I learned that the American military governor of the Fukuoka region had at his disposal a rather fancy rail car containing sleeping compartments, a spacious lounge and dining area, and a tiny kitchen. If not otherwise being used, he had from time to time made it available to other officers. In response to my inquiry, I learned that he would permit its use for a round trip to Yokohama, but only to a field-grade officer. That’s when I called the several Air Force units on Kyushu to find out if such an officer was planning a trip to Yokohama to meet the Hope. I was successful. The major I located was delighted to learn of the military governor’s rail car, and he set about making the arrangements.

Three of us—the major and I, plus a lieutenant—boarded the rail car at Fukuoka station; it was attached as the last car to a passenger train headed to Tokyo. We brought food for several days as well as a supply of beer and booze. A Japanese cook and a waiter/porter greeted us as we came aboard, and it was immediately clear this was going to be a comfortable trip. The food, cooked over a small charcoal fire, was surprisingly good, and the scenery was interesting. At Tokyo’s main station, after our car was disconnected, we were shunted over to Yokohama, where the car was parked on a siding connected to a donkey engine that provided steam and electricity.

At Yokohama’s port, I wrangled my way aboard a tug that was going out to meet the USS Hope and was surprised and delighted to spot Ambler on deck standing against the railing. Thanks to my vigorous waving, she soon spotted me, and then it was all smiles from the two of us. To welcome our wives aboard our rail chariot, before we left for the port, we had brought aboard fresh flowers and fruit, a large celebratory cake, and a couple of bottles of champagne. We travelled like potentates all the way back to Fukuoka.

Initially, I was assigned as a staff officer in the headquarters of the 315th Air Division, which oversaw all Army Air Forces units in western Japan. My job assignment came about in a surprising way. During an interview to determine where I would be assigned, the major who headed the officer personnel section asked if I had a preference of fighter groups, the 475th at Itazuke Air Base or the 8th at Ashiya Air Base. I told him that up to this point in my career, all I had done was fly airplanes and that I would now like get some broader experience. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up. He picked up my file, told me he would be right back, and walked out of the office. He returned a few minutes later and asked me to accompany him to the director of personnel’s office. The director, Lt. Col. Elmer Hoelscher, was an old-timer who had headed a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930s during the Depression. He was highly competent, friendly, soft spoken, and supportive of his subordinates.

Reviews for Bully Able Leader

[chris_el-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loving was a P-51 ace in WWII. Sent back to the US to train other pilots. He wrote another book about that experience and just brushes over it here. Here, he talks about post WWII Air Force and getting a permanent commission. Interestingly, he does not discuss the change from Army Air Corps into the separate department of the Air Force. He spent some time in Japan as the P-51 changed to F-51 and then volunteering to go in for the Korean war conflict.

Interesting switch from pursuit/fighters into the F-80 jet fighter bomber with a focus on the close Air Support (CAS) mission. US Air Force killed tens of thousands of communist forces in the Koran conflict as well as knocking out tanks, trains, and lots of trucks. He does discuss using Napalm and how effective it was against tanks and enemy trenches. Besides flying over 100 combat mission he commanded a F-80 squadron. Not only does he discuss his experience in the Korean conflict but after the conflict as he continued to make rank and was able to get his bachelors degree and eventually command 5th AF.

Recommend for those interested in CAS, Korean war conflict, or the F-80 in action.